Expecting Clara - A Sweet Misery Companion One Shot
by PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: While most would think that Derek was the last to know because Charlotte is always on top of things, Derek was actually first to know he was going to be a father; Derek Hale/OC


**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry, I'm just on a roll with ideas I want out right now. So, this is how it goes…  
WARNINGS: None really  
ENJOY!**

xxxx

Charlotte was the last to know.

Derek had a feeling that something was up a week after he and Charlotte had initiated in another mating scar swap. Ever since finally getting their shit together, they had been closer than ever and every once in while, they'd touch up their mating scars…in fact more often than they needed to. Still, Derek remembered every event leading up to it like it was yesterday, and it practically was.

They had spent that entire week after hauled up together, nuzzling, cuddling, intimately joined, and all around just together, up until the last night of their vacation, 8 days after making it there. Derek remembered feeling like Charlotte smelled different than normal and Charlotte woke up that morning feeling a little different. It was strange because it didn't seem like anything was really different, but at the same time even Charlotte could tell that something was slightly…off…but in a good way.

"Good morning," Derek told her, kissing her gently. "Today we have to go back."

Charlotte nodded, kissing Derek back and pressing her warm, naked body to his under the sheets. They had done a bit of sight seeing, which was really just heading to parks and doing picnics and then ending up straight back in bed…or up against a wall, or on the floor, or a counter. Still, they knew that the real world was still out there waiting for them, so Charlotte kept the kiss shorter than she wanted to. As much as she would have liked another go earlier, right now she just couldn't seem to muster up as much want…was it because she was feeling different? Sex just didn't seem as appealing as it normally did and she didn't get it.

Either way, Charlotte and Derek got up to get dressed, packing back up and then heading back to Beacon Hills, where they settled back in at home. They didn't go to see anyone right away, but Derek got up after Charlotte went to sleep, thoroughly exhausted, and he headed to the hospital. For some reason, Derek felt like he had smelled this particular scent before, and so he wandered around the corridors until he ran into Melissa, smiling at Scott's mother. She was surprised to see him, and even more surprised when she realized what part of the hospital he was in.

"Are you lost?" Melissa asked him slowly.

Derek shook his head. "No…no, I don't actually think so."

"What are you doing in the maternity ward, Derek?" Melissa asked him, this time without skipping a beat.

"I followed the scent," Derek told her, nodding slowly when she raised her eyebrows at him. "Charlee, she…she smelled different and now I know why."

Melissa looked confused until her eyes lit up. "Wait a minute, Derek—are you saying that Charlotte is pregnant?"

"Yeah," Derek managed to breathe out. "Yeah…Charlee's pregnant."

Visiting Charlotte in the hospital so much since she was a nurse too, had kept Derek on his toes and now he knew that he was definitely smelling that smell because he and Charlotte had done something they hadn't really planned: made a baby. She had just been craving him like she normally did when they mated and somehow, it had made her cycle off and now…God, Derek was going to be a father. It just sort of hit him, that realization, and after making Melissa promise not to say anything until he told Charlotte, he headed back to her.

When he got back to their place with the pack, he went to his and Charlotte's room and he stood in the doorway for a moment. Charlotte was sleeping peacefully, worn out from their vacation and it made Derek smile because while he didn't normally watch her, it almost seemed surreal. Everything about their relationship had changed and yet…it wasn't about change, it was about _growth_. The two of them were going to get through this and easily.

Sure, doubts had immediately crossed his mind when he realized what that smell was, and why shouldn't they have? Derek had lost his entire family and gone a long while without them, only to realize he had Peter, who only thought of himself, and Cora who did a lot of that too even though now it was him and her a lot of the time. Cora wanted a family and damn-it, so did Derek. Many would think it out of character for him, the grumpy ex-Alpha wolf, but he had always wanted to have a family to call his own…that was something that he had with Charlotte and even more so with this baby.

He and Charlotte had grown up together, argued, been best friends, and then somehow, through it all, he had gotten her to be his. They'd become mates and even then things were still rough because she _knew_ family and he didn't, but she'd never known love like he had known. There was a lot that they had had to teach each other, but she was the one person that he knew that he could trust—the one and only person that he would ever go through this new experience with.

Climbing onto the bed, Derek pushed some of Charlotte's blonde hair from her face, and then ran his fingertips down her side to her stomach, making a gentle circle motion through the sheet. Then, slowly, he lowered his face to right below where her belly button was, nuzzling and then kissing her stomach even through the sheet. That made Charlotte stir a little bit, Derek wondering whether or not the months would bring him closer to a daughter or a son.

It was strange because he had never seen himself in this place, but at the same time it brought a smile to his face. He felt like he'd done something right for once, and the fact that he and Charlotte got to share this, was more happiness than he could honestly handle. After all of the terrible things that had always come his way, Derek Hale was finally getting a chance at true and utter happiness. He was going to be a dad.

"Are you trying to solicit?" Charlotte asked slowly, slipping her fingers into Derek's hair.

He smirked and kissed her stomach again. "I'm just happy and showering you with affection, is all."

"I like affection," Charlotte replied, smiling when Derek's lips found hers.

"I like you," Derek whispered against her mouth.

That warm feeling around her heart made Charlotte smile into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Derek and keeping him close to her. He smelled a little bit like the hospital, so she knew he'd been out of the house, but she didn't want to ask him about it right now—right now she just wanted to keep his chest against hers so she could feel their hearts beating in time. All she really wanted right now was to spend some time snuggling with her mate, and Derek seemed to want the same.

Derek was about to tell her the good news, when Charlotte's phone went off, and she had to answer it because it was her mother. Nodding, Derek let her answer, later agreeing to go and visit her because honestly it was only a matter of time anyway—her parents would know, Peter would know—so he might as well take her to see her family. Besides, it would be nice to see how her parents reacted to it because now that he was their son-in-law, he was making them grandparents.

"When we get back, can we have a quiet night in just you and me?" Charlotte asked Derek as she got dressed, reaching for her hairbrush.

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah…let's go for something romantic."

"Our getaway was pretty romantic enough," Charlotte said with a small giggle. "If you keep showering me with more affection than usual, then I think I'll get used to it and for some reason, when you're grumpy I'm just as turned on."

"So tonight you want me to be grumpy?" Derek asked her, laughing as he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Or we could role play…" Charlotte suggested slowly with a shrug. "Up to you…"

Derek rolled his eyes playfully before stealing a kiss, both of them heading to her parents' house. Phasmi and Isaac were over too and not quite sure if that was the smell they thought it was, but the moment that Peter followed Matthew so that Matthew could greet his eldest daughter and his son-in-law at the door, he stopped in his tracks. They knew that scent well because Melody had the scent when she was pregnant with Charlotte and then again when she was pregnant with Phasmi. Derek saw the look and shook his head at Matthew, motioning to Charlotte, who was too busy hugging her father to notice Derek's gestures, Peter smirking.

"Is that what I think it is?" Melody asked as she entered too, Charlotte moving to hug her as well. "Because I didn't realize that this was such a celebratory dinner."

"It's exactly what you think it is," Peter replied, chuckling.

It was then that Derek spoke up. "Can I steal Charlotte away for a moment?"

"You've definitely properly done that already," Matthew teased, but Derek was pulling Charlotte out to the patio as he said it and instead Melody gathered up the others at the table to get ready for dinner.

Charlotte was a bit confused, but she also thought that whatever was happening was a little funny, so she began to laugh. Derek seemed flustered and determined and honestly she had no idea what it was that she was in for, but Derek kissed her and she welcomed his lips on hers. She could feel him pouring love into her, and then she felt it—she felt his hand on her stomach, his thumb stroking gently and it confused her. Pulling back a little, she opened up her mouth to speak, but Derek shook his head and spoke first.

"I went to the hospital today because of the smell," Derek explained, Charlotte pausing and then nodding. "I ended up in the maternity ward…"

Charlotte swallowed and then took a shallow breath. "Are you trying to say that…I mean I suppose I should have known since I _work_ in the hospital and I've been around pregnant women too, but I guess it just didn't click because…are we…?"

She trailed off and looked down at her stomach, resting her hands on Derek's hand and then looking up to meet Derek's eyes as he kept nodding. At first fear crossed her mind and then she wondered if they could do this, but Derek's beaming face made her suddenly feel very…calm. She didn't need to be freaked out about this at all. In fact, if there was anyone that would get her through this, it was Derek and she had always _wanted_ this. A family pack…a mate…babies…Derek Hale.

"You made all of my dreams come true, you know that?" Charlotte asked him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rolled up on the balls of her feet to meet him at eye level. "Are you happy?"

Derek smiled and nodded. "The happiest—and I mean that."

"I know you do," Charlotte told him, feeling her eyes grow a little misty as she kissed him tenderly. "I was the last to know, huh?"

"Yeah, but next time we won't be surprised," Derek explained with a shrug.

Charlotte smiled at him. "You're already planning a next time?"

"We're going to have a full family pack," Derek responded, kissing her gently. "Maybe three like Laura, Cora and me."

"Mom only had Phazzles and me but…I like the idea of three, I think," Charlotte admitted, scrunching up her nose playfully. "Though, we're getting ahead of ourselves—we might not be able to handle one."

"We've proved that we can handle anything," Derek responded, kissing her one more time before motioning to the door. "We should go and eat."

Charlotte nodded and dragged him toward the table. "Good, I'm starving."

"Eating for two does that to a wolf," Peter commented as Derek and Charlotte got themselves seated for the meal.

Smiling at Phasmi suddenly squealing in delight, Charlotte let them all in on what was going on and Derek couldn't help but beam: he was honestly _delighted beyond words._

**Note: I couldn't help it, I needed them to be cute again and this came to me and it had to be done! Also, check out 'Sweet Misery' this weekend because I will update that in the next couple of days to celebrate my birthday on Monday. Feedback is always appreciated!**


End file.
